48 Scary-Good Halloween Potluck Recipes
Trick or treat, trick or treat, give us something good to eat!
If you’re like us, as soon as there’s even a hint of fall in the air, you’re getting ready for Halloween. Though it’s technically a one-night only event, we’re all about finding ways to celebrate it as often as we can. That means as many costume parties, pumpkin carving contests, classroom parades, and murder mystery dinner parties as we can get ourselves invited to. Don’t make the mistake of showing up empty-handed! You might think Halloween is all about the costumes, but it's just as fun to show your scary, zany, creative side through food too. You’ll find everything from apps to drinks to dinners here, perfect whether you’re the type to go all out for Halloween or are more of a last-minute costume kind of person. Check out our 48 Halloween potluck ideas—they’re “scary” good!
No matter the occasion, there are a few things to consider when preparing food for a potluck. The best ones have a wide variety of food, so there’s really something for everyone to bring. You could just pick up ice or cups, but where’s the fun in that? If you’re looking for something crazy simple to bring, go for simple drinks, apps, or dessert with a little something extra. Big batch cocktails are the easiest, since you can mix them up at home or at the party without too much effort. Check out our Frankenpunch, our spiked pumpkin pie punch, or our harvest punch for ideas. (Hot tip: You can give any fall cocktail a spooky name to make it perfect for Halloween.) You can also dress up easy (even store-bought!) desserts with cobwebs, eyeballs, or candy to make them perfect for any Halloween party. Try our monster truffles, our ghost s’mores dip, our vampire cookies, or our pumpkin patch brownies to see how easy it is. Want a simple appetizer? We’ve got a ton that repurpose recipes and ingredients you might already know and have into adorably frightening apps that come together fast. Check out our pumpkin deviled eggs, our cheesy witch brooms, our spider web black bean dip, or our ghost pizza bagels—they’re perfect for kids (and adults that want to act like them for Halloween!).
Looking for something more involved to really wow your crowd, or attending more of a sit-down, fancier Halloween party? Try a main dish inspired by seasonal produce like squash, pumpkins, or sweet potatoes. You could go for something made in the very potluck-friendly casserole dish, like our pumpkin lasagna, our butternut squash casserole, or our Jack-o-lantern stuffed peppers. Always accidentally leaving your dishes behind? Try serving your fare inside a squash, like in our stuffing stuffed pumpkins or our stuffed acorn squash. Macaroni & cheese is another potluck classic, and for Halloween we love making it with a twist, like in our pumpkin bacon mac & cheese or our hard cider mac & cheese. Soup is also always a favorite—we featured our butternut squash and pumpkin soup here, but any seasonal fall soup will be a Halloween potluck winner.
Want more Halloween inspiration? Check out our favorite Halloween breakfasts, dinners, and desserts too.
Mummy Brie
Thanks to puff pastry, your basic baked brie becomes a totally spooky Halloween appetizer. Perfect for a Halloween party spread or to bring to snack on during a scary movie marathon.
Get the Mummy Brie recipe.
Pumpkin Lasagna
At first, pumpkin lasagna might not seem as sexy as, say, spinach artichoke lasagna, but don't be fooled: With layers of melty fontina and mozzarella and notes of sage and nutmeg, everyone at your potluck will definitely be wanting seconds of this veggie-filled lasagna.
Get the Pumpkin Lasagna recipe.
Pumpkin Deviled Eggs
These adorable pumpkin deviled eggs are way easier to make than jack-o'-lanterns! Paprika gives a wash of bold color, while a fresh chive (or snip of scallion) makes for the perfect stems.
Get the Pumpkin Deviled Eggs recipe.
Harvest Punch
Cider and ginger beer might seem like a weird pairing, but with fresh fruit and cinnamon (plus bubbly!), we promise you it more than works. This makes about 12 servings, perfect for your next fall potluck.
Get the Harvest Punch recipe.
Ghost S'mores Dip
This s'mores-inspired dip is the perfect dessert or appetizer to throw together last minute. Graham crackers make for perfect dippers, but sliced apple, pretzels, or potato chips would certainly do the trick. You can even make it ahead of time—to reheat, return to a 450° oven until melty, 3 to 5 minutes.
Get the Ghost S'mores Dip recipe.
Eyeball Pasta
Spaghetti and meatballs is a potluck classic, but dinner on Halloween can't be regular—it's gotta be spooky! Our classics have been Jack-o'-Lantern stuffed peppers and ghost pizza bagels, but now we're obsessed with turning ordinary meatballs into scary works of art by making them look like monster eyeballs.
Get the Eyeball Pasta recipe.
Looking for something delicious that's only a little bit spooky this Halloween? Try these adorable raviolis filled with ricotta, Parmesan, and finely chopped pear. We made these from wonton wrappers, rather than pasta dough, to make them scary easy on you too. You're welcOoOme.Get the Ghost Purse Ravioli recipe.
Pumpkin Curry
Earthy, sweet pumpkin is the perfect base for a spicy, Thai-inspired coconut milk curry. We begin by roasting the pumpkin to provide some caramelization and nuttiness that adds a lot to the final dish. Then we take some of the roast pumpkin and actually blend it into the curry sauce which adds another layer of pumpkin flavor. 😋
Get the Pumpkin Curry recipe.
Color-Changing Margaritas
These fluorescent fuchsia margaritas have a secretly spooky ingredient—red cabbage! It doesn't add any flavor to your cocktail, and is a great way to trick all your party guests. Make these ice cubes ahead of time so you'll be ready to make these treats all October long.
Get the Color-Changing Margaritas recipe.
Pumpkin Pie Dip
We're obsessed with distilling our favorite recipes into something we can scoop up with any number of amazing dippers. This pumpkin pie-inspired dip is the perfect example of all the flavor you love, in an easy, potluck-friendly form. We like it with gingersnaps, but really, go wild!
Get the Pumpkin Pie Dip recipe.
Ghost Pizza Bagels
The scariest thing about these pizza bagels is how fast we're going to eat them. 😉 We definitely recommend using a cookie cutter for the ghosts—try other shapes too if you got 'em!
Get the Ghost Pizza Bagels recipe.
Pub Beer Cheese
This recipe couldn't be more party-friendly. It whips up in minutes, and you only have to dirty one bowl. How's that for easy? Use whatever kind you like, anything from a hoppy IPA to a creamy stout (or even your favorite pumpkin beer?!).
Get the Pub Beer Cheese recipe.
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
What dish is the most indicative of leaves falling and the chilly autumn breeze? Some might say its pumpkin pie, others might say warm apple cider, but to us, nothing fits better with October sweater weather than a delicious bowl of butternut squash soup. Save yourself some before taking this to a potluck—there won't be any leftovers to take home!
Get the Roasted Butternut Squash Soup recipe.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adding pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice to chocolate chip cookie dough results in a heavenly pillow-like cookie with major autumn vibes. Yum!
Graveyard Chicken Enchilada Dip
It takes less than 10 ingredients to throw this simple graveyard together—you might have some of them at home already! Feel free to use all store-bought ingredients to make it easier, or make your own enchilada sauce, homemade chicken, and taco seasoning.
Pumpkin Chili
Trick or treat—this recipe actually uses kabocha squash instead of pumpkin. It eats like a cross between butternut squash and a starchy sweet potato, complex with floral aromas and earthy chestnut notes. When cooked all the way through, the forest green, kind of spooky-looking rind of kabocha is perfectly edible, meaning you don't have to spend any time peeling it before adding it to your chili.😍
Get the Pumpkin Chili recipe.
Frankenpunch
Combine ginger ale, pineapple juice, tequila, and lime sorbet or sherbet for this deliciously tropical Halloween punch. Can't find lime sherbet? Use lime popsicles instead! Bonus: They double as stir sticks.
Get the Frankenpunch recipe.
Vampire Cookies
We used store-bought ingredients to make things a little easier for you, but feel free to swap for homemade if you like—all you need is some chocolate chip cookie dough (or pre-made cookies if you want!), vanilla frosting, red food coloring, mini marshmallows, and almonds. They're a fun addition to any dessert table but are particularly great for kids' parties.
Get the Vampire Cookies recipe.
Pumpkin Soup
This simple fall soup is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. We use a little heavy cream and chicken broth in our version for extra richness, but you can totally sub coconut milk and veggie broth to make it vegan/vegetarian.
Get the Pumpkin Soup recipe.
Monster Truffles
These scary cute no-bake monsters are essentially Oreo truffles all dressed up for Halloween. The base is the same—crushed Oreos and cream cheese—but we've added our favorite candies to the mix too. As far as the coating goes, we like to dye melted white chocolate green, but candy melts would work equally well. There is, however, no substitute for the candy eyeballs. 😉
Get the Monster Truffles recipe.
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
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